


The Stars, They Bow Before Us

by striderade



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: I really love them, M/M, really rushed but i needed to ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-21
Updated: 2015-11-21
Packaged: 2018-05-02 16:10:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5254778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/striderade/pseuds/striderade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>“I love you,” Sorey whispered against his mouth, and Mikleo loved him back more than anything in the world.</i><br/> <br/>A history of the important kisses shared between Mikleo and Sorey, with the few and far inbetween.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Stars, They Bow Before Us

**Author's Note:**

> self indulgent and im not sorry, but im only 15 or so hours into zestiria so i had to

Sorey and Mikleo shared their first kiss at an especially young age. They were eight years old— not substantially young, but simple things, like with most children, still confused and mystified them; all the two of them seemed to care about was exploring and discovering all the world had to offer, and the two had naturally gotten along since Sorey showed up in Elysia. Everyone else seemed to think Sorey was weird, especially considering he was the only human they’d ever seen. They complained that about his darker skin, darker hair,his weird smell. But all Mikleo had been was interested and tempted with the newest opportunity presented to him: the ability to form a friend.

“What are they doing?” 

Mikleo had peeked his head out from behind Sorey, who was leaning against the sturdy build of one of the village houses. Two seraphim, no doubt in their teenage years, had snuck off from the rest of the group to do what looked like talk in private. Mikleo still wasn’t quite sure what it was about this that had piqued Sorey’s interest from what he’d been seeing, but it was only until the two of them leaned together to touch mouths that he realized.

“ _Ewww_ ,” Sorey said, covering his mouth to hide his laughter. “That’s really gross!” 

Mikleo hit his shoulder. “They’re only kissing,” he said. “That’s not gross. What, do you live under a rock or something? Do you even know what kissing is?”

“Gramps always told me not to talk about that kinda stuff,” Sorey said. He snickered quietly and continued to watch them. “Why’d they have to sneak away from everyone else just to do it, anyway? Couldn’t they have like… waited, or something?”

He shrugged. “Couldn’t wait? I don’t know, I’m not a teenager. Why don’t you ask them instead?”

Sorey shoved him. “No! I’m not gonna ask them! Mikleo, you can be so weird sometimes…” He leaned forward a little more and clapped his hand to his mouth again, jumping in surprise. “Ugh! Ew, I saw their tongues!”

“Sorey!” But even Mikleo couldn’t hold his laughter in. He reached forward to wrap his arms around Sorey’s neck and pull him back, trying to quiet him down. “Shhh! They’re gonna know we’re here!”

But alas, they’d been caught anyway. After a nasty scolding from both of the teenagers (who were no doubt embarrassed), they’d gotten yet another one from their elders and good pat on the head. But even despite the lecture and a speech on why it was wrong for them to watch, Mikleo would cast a slight glance at Sorey next to him every few minutes and sense that something was off. Mikleo noticed that he was hardly invested in listening to what was being told to them, and every so often he would look off as if he were in deep thought.

Later that night, Sorey had trailed off as they laid in bed, his back to Mikleo’s as they desperately tried to go to sleep. Mikleo knew he was awake, but what he was expecting had been an entirely different story. The two of them had been trying to rest for a few hours now, but even Mikleo knew when something was wrong. He was sure the thoughts that plagued his mind were no different from the ones that plagued Sorey’s.

“Hey… Mikleo?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you _know_ what kissing is? Like, actual kissing?”

Mikleo bit his lip awkwardly and shifted. “Yeah, of course I do… Don’t tell me you forgot already.”

Sorey grumbled. “I didn’t! I just— I mean, do you know why people do it?”

He thought about it. “I guess they do it because they like each other,” he decided. “That’s what Gramps told me, anyway… I mean, he told me the same thing he told you. We aren’t really… um… old enough to think about it just yet.” 

“Aren’t you curious though?”

“A little,” Mikleo said. 

He felt Sorey shift next to him, and Mikleo looked over his shoulder to see the younger boy sitting up straight. For someone so young, Sorey seemed to look so serious. His lips were pursed, and Mikleo saw it once more— that deeply lost look in his eyes. Then, Sorey turned to him, and leaned forward as he got on his hands and sat over him.

“…Sorey,” Mikleo said quietly, confused.

“I— I was just thinking,” Sorey said. “Like, you’re my best friend! We’ve practically been raised together, even though it hasn’t been _that_ long… and we really like each other, right? We’re going to be friends for a really long time… that’s what it was like for them, wasn’t it?”

Mikleo sat up a little. “I-I guess so,” he said. He didn’t really know the difference, then; Sorey did have a point. He liked Sorey, yeah. They were practically the closest friends in the entire village. “But, I mean—”

“Um…” Sorey laughed and looked away. “Like, we can try… kissing?”

“…On the lips?” Mikleo looked at him quizzically. “I— wait, like... you really want to try it out?”

Sorey nodded slowly, his eyebrows furrowed; Mikleo knew that defiant, curious look anywhere— the kind that took over Sorey whenever he couldn’t stop thinking about something, no matter how small. After that, it had happened fairly quickly— it was awkward, at first, but then eventually Sorey had scooted closer for but a brief, brief moment just to lean down and peck him on the lips. Then he turned around just as quickly as he’d gotten up, leaving Mikleo to process what had just happened in the split fraction of a second.

“Good night!” He said, and pulled the sheets up over his head.

-

The second kiss happened four years later, when they were twelve. Sorey had woken up from some kind of dream (he wasn’t sure whether or not it was a bad one), his breath quick and uneven as he stared blankly at the ceiling. They’d long since stopped sleeping together, maybe about a year before then. But Mikleo was by Sorey’s side in an instant, dropped to his knees beside his bed as he looked at him with worry. Right away, he’d sensed that something was wrong and Sorey’s bizarre, sudden state of frenzy didn’t need to tell him that. “Sorey? Sorey, are you okay?”

Sorey sat up cautiously. “I— I don’t know,” he said, taking a breath.

“What? You don’t know?”

“It was strange,” he said slowly. “We were— you and I— I don’t know... It wasn’t bad, but...” Sorey looked at him and leaned back on his elbows. “Why aren’t you asleep? Did I—”

“You didn’t wake me,” Mikleo said. “I just want to know if you’re okay, or what happened... or if you had a bad dream. I—”

“Mikleo—”

“I just—” Mikleo stopped and looked at Sorey deeply, trying to read his expression for any kind of uncertainty or concern. “Sorey?”

“Don’t hate me for this, okay?”

Mikleo blinked and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Sorey had reached forward to cup his face and quickly kiss him. It was too hard, too sudden, and he froze as Sorey kissed him, but then he pulled away with panic in his eyes and held his mouth with his hand. All they could do was stare at each other, Mikleo’s expression blank as his mouth hung open, and for a moment they were simply locked in each other’s gazes without the ability to look away. To anyone, it simply looked as if two twelve year old boys had just done something unspeakable. But it was hardly like that at all. Far from it.

“Sorey?” Mikleo reached up and subconsciously, without thinking about it, touched his lips. “I—”

“I had a dream about you,” Sorey blurted out, looking away. “We— it was nothing, you just... I’m confused, and I don’t know what’s going on... and I don’t know if we’re still too young to understand. I’m scared. Gramps didn’t tell me about this... about liking anyone or... or—”

“Sorey,” Mikleo said. He reached forward to grab Sorey’s wrist and hold it tightly. “I— I don’t know either. I don’t know why you just kissed me or... or what your dream was about, and I don’t want to know. But this isn’t... this isn’t bad, okay? I don’t hate you. I don’t hate you at all, I—”

“Mikleo...” Sorey looked upset. “I think I like you, all right. I... I like you a lot. You’re the greatest friend I’ve ever had, and I... I just don’t know if I _like_ like you, or...”

Mikleo swallowed nervously, and Sorey stopped speaking to recollect his thoughts. He was sure it had become apparent to the both of them by now that they were both very different from normal children; these kinds of thoughts weren’t immature, second long suspicions or spouts of curiosity. He could tell by Sorey’s voice that he was struggling with this, and in his thoughts, Mikleo struggled too. With what to say, or how to react— all he could do was think about the too fast kiss and the too fast everything. But somehow... it felt right to him.

“I...” Mikleo stood up slowly and let Sorey’s wrist go, his entire body tingling with surprise and the slightest adrenaline in response to what had just happened. Sorey followed his movement, giving him the chance to speak, but all Mikleo did was crawl into bed and lie down next to him. It was awkward for but a moment, considering neither of them quite knew what to do, but Sorey was fine with simply lying there as he got comfortable, giving him the room he needed.

“I don’t need to say it, do I?” He asked. “...That I like you too?”

Needless to say, Sorey understood.

Later, Mikleo found out that it was a nightmare. Sorey had dreamt of losing him, perhaps forever— had thought of future in which he had died, and Mikleo had not. Mikleo hadn't been at his side, then. For the first time, he was gone. In a flurry of confused emotions and hushed apologies, Sorey confessed to kissing him solely because he wanted it to be the last thing they'd ever done. He'd woken up, convinced that this was the reality in which his dream had taken place, and... Mikleo understood.

He swore never to leave Sorey's side again, after that— and could never, in his life, hate him.

-

They redid the third kiss later, of course, when the uncertainty and confusion had passed. When Sorey kissed him then, he smiled, and the world fell into perfect place.

-

The fourth— and realest kiss they’d ever shared since— happened when Sorey turned fifteen. To seraphim, birthdays weren’t too much of a celebration; they certainly lived for quite some time, so what was the point of celebrating a birthday for something as simple as the passing of a year? Usually, they did celebrate, but only until a seraph turned eighteen— and Mikleo, who was sixteen by then, had gotten quite bored and insisted that they try not to make his “birthday” into that big of a deal.

But Sorey was different. Mikleo liked throwing parties for Sorey or celebrating with him for any occasion. Because he was a human, birthdays held so much more significance— so when Sorey’s fifteenth birthday came time, it was only natural they put something together for him. It wasn’t anything too big, of course. A small gathering to bestow upon him gifts and wishes of a long lasting life. But Mikleo remained with Sorey long after the party had dispersed, their arms over their knees as they stared off into the night sky.

“I feel kind of old,” Sorey confessed. His voice was deeper, now. Mikleo looked off beyond the sky as he spoke, quietly listening to him. “But not that old at the same time. You know... it’s weird. I feel like I have an entire lifetime ahead of me.”

“Don’t you, though?” Mikleo asked, mirroring him. “You’re talking like an old man, you know. You’re still a teenager. I could’ve sworn your voice just cracked.”

“Oh, shut up,” Sorey said. “You went through that point too! ...Three months ago. See, I can’t be an old man because I can remember how gross you sounded when you went through puberty not too long ago.”

Mikleo held his face in embarrassment. “I wish puberty wasn’t a thing for seraphim,” he whined miserably.

Sorey touched his shoulder gently and rubbed it. “We all go through it,” he chastised jokingly. “We all know the horrors and pains of hormonal growth spurts, Mikleo... it’s okay, you know. Just let it all out...”

“I hate you,” Mikleo said into his hands.

But— that was the funny thing, if he were going to be quite honest with himself; puberty, while not ideal for him (in his eyes, at least) had hit Sorey hard, transforming him into something so different from when they were children. In the years they’d grown and changed, Mikleo got to see it all— from the way Sorey’s face got sharper, but still held that softness he was always so fond of. When his hair got longer, his eyebrows growing thicker and darker. He was still knee deep in that “hormonal growth spurt”, but sitting there with Sorey in the current moment had alerted Mikleo to all the things that had changed in just the blink of an eye.

“Mikleo,” Sorey said, a moment later. 

"Yeah?" 

“I’m glad you’re here. You know, and that you still kind of care about my birthday like this, and that you still like me. I know everyone else does, but... I didn’t think I’d ever get along with anyone here. I thought you’d maybe detest me a little.” He laughed. “I guess I’m just happy were friends and that we get to sit here like this, talking about puberty and being old men...”

Mikleo looked up from his hands and looked at him. “Sorey,” he said, trailing off. “...I’m glad I’m here with you too.” 

When Sorey kissed him that time, it didn’t exactly take him by surprise. This time, Mikleo didn’t need to process anything but the touch of Sorey’s hand on his back, and the way the stars bowed to them in their momentary show of affection.

-

The fifth kiss, and the sixth, and the seventeenth... Mikleo liked those the most, because Sorey did them whenever he got the chance. He did them frequently— in the morning, in the evening, in the night. Sorey did them when he got excited, and when Mikleo would (very obviously) catch his attention while they explored the ruins, only just happening to lean his face in the boy’s direction ( _totally_ not on purpose)— he did them then, too.They became fond of showing those slight bursts of emotion, and the other seraphim didn’t seem to mind; in fact, they became normal among their small little town, and Gramps was simply happy to see that they enjoyed each other’s company.

However, their thirtieth kiss caught Mikleo completely off guard. Sorey was seventeen, then. It was hard, getting over Alisha’s arrival and her stay in the village. Mikleo was more than unhappy with Sorey for breaking the rules and then leaving at the most perilous time. But he looked so ready— so grown and different as he walked through the gates. The glove on his left hand... for some reason, it looked as if it had belonged there for a very long time. It left Mikleo with an indescribable feeling; maybe, when they sat out among the stars that one time, Sorey really did mean to mention that lifetime he had ahead of him.

But, as they looked at something far more vast than the stars themselves— as Sorey gazed with happiness and surprise at the expansive world before them, Mikleo’s chest felt ready to burst with several unidentifiable emotions. He desperately wanted to grab his hand, or to do anything to ensure that what he was experiencing was very much real. His nervousness had dissipated, but in its wake left a certain feeling of anxiousness. He looked at Sorey, looking out beyond their land, then reached out to link their fingers together and hold them tightly.

They had kissed for what seemed like an eternity, then. Sorey’s arms were around him in an instant, holding him close, their bodies pressed tightly together as they sunk to the grass and kissed as if they’d never see or feel something so amazing again. He hadn’t noticed when Sorey’s hands relaxed, fingers threading through his hair to pull him close, but he didn’t care. In that moment, only them and the world seemed to exist— and Mikleo, for once, felt prepared for the journey that awaited them. 

“I love you,” Sorey whispered against his mouth, and Mikleo loved him back more than anything in the world.

-

“Some privacy, please,” Sorey had told Lailah. 

They were arguing, him and Mikleo— over something small, of course, but Sorey simply wasn’t having the added audience. They were with him always, Sorey knew, but Lailah took Edna and told her to keep quiet as Mikleo and Sorey stared at each other, bewildered and in the heist of an argument none of them expected to have. It was a private affair. It was impossible to keep from prying eyes, but Sorey was in a completely different state of mind entirely. He cared not for what was around him or who was watching, then.

Mikleo growled and pressed forward. He fisted the front of Sorey’s cape and pulled him close, angry at him and ready to forgive him at any moment, still— and Sorey, in a flurry of frustration and all sorts of emotions, pushed Mikleo as his back hit the wall. Hands flew to his hips and Mikleo felt as Sorey pushed his shirt up to feel the skin underneath, and then they were kissing— perhaps for the hundredth time, or... not even Mikleo could count anymore, having lost track a long time ago. But all he could do was pull the younger man closer and closer until he was impossibly close, and impossibly there— and he pulled at Sorey’s hair, lips parted as he worked them open with his mouth. They both gasped at the press of their hips together, and Sorey began to kiss over the line of his jaw and down his neck.

“Can all our arguments end this way?” He panted, nipping at his skin— pulling his hands up to start work on Mikleo’s jacket.

“Yes, please,” Mikleo hissed, aroused. “I am not objecting to that.”

-

For centuries, Mikleo did not see Sorey.

He was foolish to assume he would never see him again.

For years, he remembered the way he felt— the way he was. For years, Mikleo continued their legacy, continuing what Sorey could not in the wake of their twisted fate; he had tried to forget, tried to avoid what had become of them and pressed on no matter his destiny. The ruins echoed his name— would never stop reminding him.

But he was foolish, when he assumed all that. When he grew older and fonder but could not stop thinking about the chance he let go. The assumption that he would never find another person like Sorey to love him and see him and be there for him. 

It had to be of the many kisses they’d share in the past, he was sure, when Sorey found him once again. Pulled from the depths of his fall and once again in the weight of Sorey’s hands as he looked at his face once more, he got to really look at what he’d missed for the last handful of centuries since they’d separated. Sorey had smiled at him— Sorey had held his hand and smiled and could not say anything, really, until Mikleo was in his arms again— wrapped around him and so, so safe. Sorey’s mouth was warm on his temple, arms tight around his shoulders as they held each other in the peaceful moment of bliss, and Mikleo could not recall a recent memory in which he'd ever been so happy.

“I love you,” Mikleo weeped, clutching Sorey’s back as he pulled tightly at his shirt. “I _love you_ , Sorey.” 

And Sorey loved him back more than anything in the world.


End file.
